


head in the clouds

by florallylly



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Princess Mina, more of a drabble than anything tbh or like a collection of drabbles, servant jihyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 08:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19353550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florallylly/pseuds/florallylly
Summary: there used to be rumors of a kingdom in the sky, where it was said, one could live freely. but they were just that, rumors.





	1. intro: stories

there used to be whispers, stories, about a kingdom in the sky. it was said to be beautiful and vast, peaceful and powerful, prosperous and generous. it was said to be a place where one could live freely, that was, if you could ever find it. 

 

mina was raised on stories. fantasies about knights and princesses, wizards and dragons…. castles in the sky. and she had always been one to believe in dreams. so of course, once she grew up, she expected to be saved by a white knight on horseback, or to be swept off her feet by a handsome sorcerer. but not all dreams come true, and sometimes being a princess comes before being a romantic. 

 

and being a princess meant a political marriage with a prince she had never met before from a country she had never been to before on a day she didn’t choose. and being a princess meant she was more than “mina.” and being a princess meant she had to sacrifice herself for the good of the country. 

 

so it was at the age of fifteen that mina neatly put away her storybooks and plans for the future, tucking them away from sight, her hope for freedom (and love) in the kingdom in the sky, nothing more than a dream. 

 

\------

 

there used to be rumors, gossip, about an icy princess. she was said to freeze men with a single glance, but still, people longed for a peek of her beautiful countenance. she was said to be stunning, most of all when she smiled, if you could be one of the lucky few to witness it. 

 

jihyo was raised on gossip. chatter in the marketplace about corrupt knights, the latest pregnancy scares… cold princesses. yet she had always been one to check her sources. so of course, as she grew up, she grew less inclined to believe in the tales of princess mina’s frozen heart. because not all rumors are true, and sometimes, being a princess didn’t mean you were happy. 

 

and being a peasant didn’t mean you were unhappy. but being a peasant meant poverty and working odd jobs to make ends meet. and being a peasant meant praying for a chance to enter the palace, because it meant a steady income and an allotment of land. 

 

so it was at the age of seventeen that jihyo entered the palace, a newly trained maid, who unlike the rest of the staff, ignored the gossip, because without truth, all the chatter, all the rumors were nothing more than sounds. 


	2. track 1: eyes

since her betrothal, her mother had trained her in all the proper ways to conduct herself in the palace, and that meant learning how to curtsy, learning how to sip without slurping, and most importantly- how to stay silent. 

 

so if she couldn’t talk, then mina could very well listen. and she heard things- the cheerful chatter of the kitchen, the clanking steps of the knights, and a melody, carried by the wind through her window. and she heard the whispers. 

 

considering how closed off she had been in the past couple of years, it wasn’t necessarily surprising to hear that people found her cold. but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when she saw the guarded look in a new handmaiden’s eyes, or the sort of sick excitement in a guard’s. so mina decided not to expect anything less than fear and perversion. 

 

and then she turned seventeen years old, and it was the first time in years she saw more than a pitying or leering look in someone’s eyes. looking into the new maid’s eyes, she saw it- wonder. 

 

\----

 

since entering the palace, jihyo had busied herself with work. sweeping the floors, making the beds, fetching the water. and it was mundane, so boring. so if she sang a little tune to entertain herself while doing the laundry, that was her business. 

 

and maybe the business of the head housekeeper, who heard her way up in the kitchen, and proceeded to scold her for a good hour (or maybe just a couple minutes, but who was counting?). but if there was one thing jihyo was good at, it was ignoring people. 

 

because music was engraved into her skin, embroidered into every piece of clothing she owned. as a child, there was little more to do than sing and dance and talk and play. she couldn’t afford the books and tutors that nobles could, but she could afford to hum a tune once in a while. so jihyo continued to hum while she did her chores, the sweet chords a comfort to her ears. 

 

and then one day, she turned around, a bucket of water in hand, and a final ringing note still echoing in her ears, and it nearly scared her how much she saw of it in that girl’s eyes- loneliness. 


	3. track 2: facts

mina liked to think she was pragmatic. she liked to think she was practical. but now, she realized that all she had done was run and hide and cower and fake. because she may have “accepted” her fate as a princess, following through with wedding preparation and etiquette classes and needlepoint, but she had always done it with a sort of reluctance in her heart.

 

and the whole time, she had never once spoken a word in favor of herself. 

 

mina liked to think she was brave. she liked to think that she was sacrificing her happiness for the good of the people, using her body and her heart to secure alliances with more powerful kingdoms, and using her womb to ensure that the country would have a ruler in the future. 

 

mina liked to think she was a realist. she liked to think she faced the facts and took it in stride. she liked to think that all her books and tutors meant that she knew everything that needed to be known.

 

but in the end, she had just been hiding again. 

 

\-----

 

jihyo was never pragmatic. she was never practical. sure, she entered the palace because it ensured a steady income for her family, but she entered the palace with more than resignation. because this was possibly the best opportunity she had to make something of herself. 

 

and maybe she would be able to take it. 

 

jihyo never thought she was brave. she had never been like those powerful heroes in stories, cutting down enemies and saving princesses. she wasn’t even like the quiet martyrs her mom told her about, laying down their lives for the good of all. because how could you try to fight for others when you can’t even defend yourself?

 

jihyo had never been a realist. she dreamed and wished and hoped and loved and sang about new beginnings and happy endings. because if she couldn’t have it in real life, she could at least have it in her dreams. 

 

and who knows, maybe something unbelievable might happen. 

 


	4. interlude: hands

it’s scary how easy it is for her to lose herself in the fantasy, and it’s all because of those hands.

 

they’re delicate, soft. nothing like the rough and weathered hands of a servant who has to haul buckets of water, wash clothes with lye soap, and sweep the fireplaces. they’re a princess’s hands. 

 

and those delicate, soft hands are the same ones that brush against hers in the library. a casual touch, no more than an accident. and if she feels a burning in her hand hours after, it must be due to a hand cramp or the like. 

 

but now all she can think about are those hands. those princess hands. those royal hands. the way

they wave around when she talks to her tutor, the way they turn pages with care, the way they tuck her hair behind her ear, only for it to fall back down in a moment of concentration. 

 

and if there was one thing she could sing about, it would be those hands because lord knows she had a lot to say about them. 

 

and if one day, those soft hands, those delicate fingers tap on her shoulder, well, anything could happen, couldn’t it?


	5. track 3: facts (reprise)

mina was a realist. she knew when to attack and when to retreat, and she knew that she was expected to not know how to do a single thing except smile. she knew what was expected of her, and that she was expected to marry prince whoever from wherever. and that was a fact. 

 

but somehow, listening to the pretty maid, jihyo’s, soft voice, a sweet lullaby this time, it felt so easy to forget. it felt so easy to want. it felt so easy to fall. 

 

mina was a princess. but not here, not in this bedroom, not in her arms. she didn’t need to know the proper angle to tip her head at, or how low her curtsy should be, or how weak her handshake should be. all she had to do was love and be loved. 

 

and she could do that so easily. it didn’t take lessons and books and tutors to know how to be held. 

 

but in the end, the fact was that she was a princess. 

 

\-------

 

jihyo was a dreamer. she often broke the rules to get what she wanted, and she never cared what others thought of her. she knew who she was, and she was more than a palace maid. she was more than a simple peasant from the countryside. 

 

so somehow, it was too easy for her to let herself fall. because it was as natural as breathing for her, but things aren’t as easy as they seem. 

 

jihyo was a servant. and the walls have eyes and the bricks talk. and in the palace and in the entire kingdom, she was just a servant, who should have kept her head low and her hands clean. because no matter where she went, she would always be a servant. 

 

it didn’t matter how much she loved, what mattered was who she loved, and she could never love a princess. 

 

because in the end, the fact was that she was a simple palace maid. 


	6. track 4: eyes (instrumental)

it’s the last thing she sees of her. jihyo’s eyes. there’s no fear. there’s no hope. there’s nothing. 

 

maybe that’s the hardest part for mina. the fact that those expressive, beautiful eyes ended up blank and emotionless, and that it was her fault. because it was. it is. 

 

sometimes she wakes up, those eyes burned into her mind, and she can’t help but cry. it’s her fault, it’s her fault, it’s her fault. 

 

\-------

 

she tries to be brave, really. she tries to express how she feels to mina as she’s dragged away. 

 

it’s not hard for her to leave. she expected it, after all. but looking back at mina’s eyes is the hardest part. seeing them tear up, and knowing it’s her fault. 

 

it’s not your fault, it’s not your fault, it’s not your fault. jihyo tries to tell mina through her eyes, unable to call out. 


	7. outro: stories

mina remembers the stories. the rumors. the legends. 

 

she knows the tale of the kingdom in the sky, where anyone could be wealthy, and everyone was free to live, free to love. she also knows that not all stories are true. 

 

because once upon a time, there were two girls who loved each other. and maybe in the kingdom in the sky, that would be enough. and if it were up to them, it would be enough. but dreams had no such place in the palace. 

 

but if there’s one thing she’s held onto, it’s the kingdom in the sky. and this time, mina is determined to find it. which is why she’s here, standing at the top of the highest tower in the palace, her mind made up and her heart calm. 

 

“i’ll see you again,” she whispers, her voice lost in the wind, “i’ll meet you in the kingdom in the sky.” and then she lets go.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so tbh this was like a quick little thing that i kind of just had to get out, so ik it's really idk abstract and not that well developed so yikes!!!!! either way i really enjoyed writing this and by enjoy i mean i suffered!! ok so if you did or didn't enjoy LOL i hope u hit me up on twitter @florallylly bc its summer time and i have no friends :D

**Author's Note:**

> :/


End file.
